150,000 more customers targeted under phase 6 of Last Mile power project
The customers, comprising households and MSMEs, will be spread across 45 counties, except Nairobi and Mombasa.
At least 150,000 new customers will be connected to electricity under the latest phase 6 of the Last Mile Connectivity Project (LMCP).
Power supplier Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) on Tuesday announced the commencement of the phase which will be funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
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Kenya Power’s Managing Director and CEO Joseph Siror confirmed the receipt of the funds from the lender and are inviting bids for consultancy services as part of the initial phase of the program's rollout.
“The government of Kenya has received financing from AfDB toward the cost of the implementation of the sixth phase of the Last Mile Connectivity Project. The funding will go a long way to boost the ongoing national electrification efforts and accelerate the attainment of universal access to electricity by the year 2030,” Siror said.
The customers, comprising households and MSMEs, will be spread across 45 counties, except Nairobi and Mombasa.
Notably, this is the third round of funding for the power plan from AfDB, with the continental lender having funded phases one and three of the project, where a total of 536,077 customers were connected.
In addition to the targeted customers, the latest phase will also entail system reinforcements as well as grid extensions.
This will involve construction and refurbishment of 13 substations; construction of three 33/11kV new substations, refurbishment and upgrade of three 33/11kV substations and construction of seven new 33kV new switching stations.
The project will also entail the construction of 211 kilometres and 14 kilometres of 33kV and 11kV distribution lines, respectively.
This with an aim of boosting social infrastructure to serve education, healthcare and water and sanitation.
Additionally, 650 kilometres of 33kV lines and 6,798 kilometres of low voltage network will be constructed to facilitate the last mile connections.
Since the inception of the project in 2015, Kenya Power says it has connected 746,867 customers to the national grid.
The company is currently implementing the fourth and fifth phases which seek to connect an additional 280,000 and 11,000 new customers to the grid respectively.
Apart from AfDB, the power project has also been funded by various lenders including the World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union(EU) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
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